(W.Ø.) Larsen Selected Grain 18 Restoration

[piffyr]

This pipe belongs to fellow forum member, dmcmtk, but he's never really seen it. It was sent directly to me from the eBay seller. When it arrived, I could see that there was some charring at the front-inner rim, a few scratches and dings, and the stain was uneven, but otherwise the pipe just needed a good cleaning.
Here's how it looked when it came in...

 

[piffyr]

There was nothing at all groundbreaking about the work that I did on the pipe. Just a simple ream 'n' clean and some light refinishing by hand to refresh the appearance. I think it polished up into a real beauty though.
Here's the finished pipe...

Dave had mentioned that he'd get a kick out of logging into the forum one day and seeing a post about his pipe. Well, Dave, here it is! Now, I just need you to message me with an address so that I can send it home. That is, unless you'd like for it to stay around here a little while longer. That wouldn't be a problem at all. Seriously.

 

[piffyr]

P.S.: I've had it mentioned elsewhere that I never highlight the stamping in the photos of the finished pipe. So, for the sake of completion and to show that I'm not buffing the crap out the pipes, here's the before and after photos of the stamping.

 

[newbroom]

Ok, I thought the pipe looked good in the 'recv'd' pics and then saw what you did with it and it's just incredible!

The pipe is exquisite and so is the refurbishment.

What are your methods. I was going to say secrets, but realized that might give you too easy an answer.

 

[philobeddoe]

Damn good work Piffyr. I'll bet that pipe hasn't looked that nice since it was in the display case many, many years ago!

 

[cigrmaster]

piffyr, amazing job. Looks like a brand new pipe. Do you have an ozone machine for real bad ghosts?

 

[doctorbob]

How do you handle stamping. The prior pictures, it looks like some of the stamping is worn right off, the LARSEN in particular. The post shots show deep, clear stamps.
Doc

 

[piffyr]

What are your methods. I was going to say secrets, but realized that might give you too easy an answer.

You'd have to be more specific before I could answer. There can be many steps taken to bring a pipe back to life.

Do you have an ozone machine for real bad ghosts?

No, I don't. I'm keeping an eye out for an old ozone air purifier so that I can cobble one together. That said, I've had great success with Greg Pease's activated charcoal method.

How do you handle stamping. The prior pictures, it looks like some of the stamping is worn right off, the LARSEN in particular. The post shots show deep, clear stamps.

In general, I just don't touch stamping until the very final stages of finishing, and even then, only enough to knock down the very fine splintering. I'll butt right up against it, but never over it during the rest of the process. It's a trick of the light that makes the stamping look deeper in the post-resto photos. There's less refraction in the smoother surface.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Nicely done! Please tell us a bit about, pardon the expression, the rim job.

 

[dmcmtk]

One of the classic Larsen shapes, from the time period when Hans Jonny Nielsen (Former) was at Larsen. From pipedia,

At the age of 15 he got his first job - at Poul Rasmussen's pipe shop in Copenhagen. Former spent two years there repairing pipes. The salary was very small. However, the education was large, because pipe repair taught him much about the way pipes worked. He learned all the different brands of pipes and their characteristics and soon he could repair just about any disaster that can befall a pipe.
In 1962, at the age of 21, Former was hired at W.Ø. Larsen. He was now a professional pipe maker, but his education continued at an accelerated rate during his first year with W.Ø. Larsen.
Former kept in contact with his friend, Sven Knudsen, who could advise, when necessary. Knudsen, who also did the sandblasting at that time for W.Ø. Larsen, knew the Larsen models by heart (many were Sven's own designs. ed.), and he was able to show him how to make pipes exactly according to the catalog shapes. It is not easy to hand-make pipes to that degree of accuracy, but the exercise sharpened Former's skills.
Former continued working for W.Ø. Larsen for 10 years. He advanced to supervisor and was responsible for checking the quality of the pipes, training the new carvers and making and grading pipes. The factory had a staff of 19 carvers, including names like Teddy Knudsen and Tonni Nielsen.

For some primary source commentary,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz0ZOuC5TZU

 

[piffyr]

Please tell us a bit about, pardon the expression, the rim job.

Not much to say, really. Thankfully, the charring didn't go deeply into the wood. You can see it in the pre-resto "above" shot as a slight softening of the right-front inner rim. I topped the bowl lightly (less than 1mm), brought the chamber more or less back into round, and put a very slight bevel on the inner rim. The chamber is still slightly out of round where the charring was, but the thin bevel softens the edge enough that it's barely noticeable. It's a good thing to have on an inner rim anyway, since it's that sharp edge where the wood gets thin that likes to burn.